Abstract

Despite the increasing popularity of formative assessment as an instructional tool, teachers find it difficult to implement formative assessment strategies in their practice. To address this we developed a training programme based on formative assessment and scaffolding literature. A quasi-experimental design was utilised to examine the programme’s usefulness; 8 teachers in higher education received the training and eight teachers did not. A questionnaire (N = 260) was administered before and after the training to determine students’ perceptions of their teachers’ adaptive behaviour. The trained teachers also participated in an interview about the usefulness of the training. Although no significant interaction effects between time and group were found, results over time reveal that both trained and untrained teachers showed more adaptive behaviour by providing more challenge when needed. Both groups of teachers also showed more non-adaptive behaviour since they gave more support and challenge than needed and became less supportive when students needed support. Results between groups indicate that trained teachers showed more adaptive behaviour than untrained teachers. Interview results indicate that teachers reviewed the training positively and reported scaffolding theory as a useful addition. Teachers requested more time and support to implement newly learned strategies in daily practice.

摘要

尽管形成性评估作为一种教学工具越来越受欢迎，但教师发现很难在实践中实施形成性评估策略。为了解决这个问题，我们开发了一个基于形成性评估和支架文献的培训计划。使用准实验设计来检验该方案的实用性；8 名高等教育教师接受了培训，8 名教师没有接受培训。一份问卷（N = 260) 在培训前后进行管理，以确定学生对教师适应性行为的看法。受过培训的教师还参加了有关培训有用性的采访。虽然没有发现时间和小组之间有显着的交互作用，但随着时间的推移，结果表明，受过训练和未受过训练的教师都通过在需要时提供更多挑战而表现出更具适应性的行为。两组教师也表现出更多的非适应性行为，因为他们提供了比需要更多的支持和挑战，并且在学生需要支持时变得更少支持。组间结果表明，受过培训的教师比未受过培训的教师表现出更多的适应性行为。访谈结果表明，教师积极评价培训，并报告说脚手架理论是一个有用的补充。